Sometimes the best introduction to a food is a description of how it tastes. A soft bread that catches every drop of stew. A chewy salad with pepper, onions and rich palm oil. A charcoal-grilled skewer with a crisp, browned exterior.
Those are three very different invitations to eat—and all appear in Odd Bites: Africa by Mike Bukayo.
Injera: the bread that brings the meal together
In Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking, injera does several jobs at once. It is bread, a surface for serving food and something you tear into pieces to scoop up stews and vegetables.
Traditionally made with teff, its fermented batter produces a gentle sourness and a soft surface filled with tiny bubbles. That texture is part of the pleasure: each piece gathers sauce as you eat. If you enjoy sourdough, injera offers a familiar point of connection, with a completely different way of bringing a meal to the table.
Abacha: a salad with something to chew on
Associated with Igbo cuisine in southeastern Nigeria, abacha starts with processed, dried cassava shreds. Once softened, they become the base for a dish built around texture and seasoning.
Palm oil, onions, peppers and ingredients such as ugba—fermented oil bean seeds—give it richness, freshness and depth. Fish may join the mix. The appeal is in how those elements work together: chewy cassava, lively seasoning and contrasting bites.
Calling it a salad only begins to describe it.
Boulfaf: smoky, rich and made for the grill
Moroccan boulfaf takes pieces of liver, seasons them with spices such as cumin and paprika, and wraps them in caul fat before grilling.
The fine wrapping of fat renders as it cooks, creating a browned exterior around the rich liver. Charcoal adds another layer of flavour. The book connects the dish with family cooking at Eid al-Adha, giving the skewer a story that extends beyond its ingredients.
These dishes come from distinct food traditions. What connects them is the care taken to turn ingredients into something satisfying.
Explore their preparation, cultural context and more in Odd Bites: Africa. Start with the dish whose flavours already sound like something you would love.